The power of quo warranto that caused the downfall of Sereno

A CAR COMPANY ONCE HAD AN AD THAT SAYS "YOU ASKED FOR IT, YOU,VE GOT IT"

Freedom of expression and freedom of the media is one of the most fundamental right in all democratic societies in the world.

However, freedom is not absolute and has its limitations.

The Subjudice-rule, is one such limitation which prevents the publication of material that prejudice a case facing trial in Court.

The term subjudice literally means "under judicial consideration"

The Subjudice rule seeks to prevent negative pre-trial publicity which can affect the rights of the accused person such as the right to a fair trial; to protect the independence and dignity of the judiciary;to protect the rule of law and to prevent the obstruction of justice.

it is prejudicial to prejudge issues that are still under judicial consideration as the integrity of the judicial is an essential component of the rule of law.

The case of Maria Lourdes Sereno is classic subjudice. Her posture from the very beginning was shee wanted her day in Court.

When the impeachment hearings went thorugh in the lower house of Congress, she went to town, not just attracting attention to her self proving the prognosis arrived at when she went under psychological testing as a requirement before the Judicial and Bar Council nomination process, but on a full-blown PR campaign descriptive in the intensity of political hustings and not just damage control.

It is even rumored that an Spanish mestizo in Makati has bankrolled the blitzkrieg to the tune of P2 billion, complete with a possible bailout budget to bribe Senators when the case moves to the upper house for trial.

Did this funder approach some members of the opposition and some incumbents who were also part of the CJ Corona impeachment trial? I don't know.

Remember, according to DBM records, the following incumbents got DAP funds from BS Aquino's pork barrel:

The following are not incumbents but they have blood relations with incumbents:
1. Manuel Villar got P50M
2. Jinggoy Estrada (P50M)
3. Edgardo Angara (P50M)

Where can we draw moral ascendancy from these 12 eh namantikaan na ang labi nila at least once?

Liberal Party Senators | Photo CTTO

In addition to Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros and Leila de Lima in the opposition and BSAquino's damocles sword over the heads of these tainted dozen, it would have been a walk in the park to conclude that it was difficult to attain 2/3 majority of the remaining 23 senators to convict Sereno, what with the air of the May 2019 elections just a year away!

Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano got their shares from DAP, but are Duterte d!e-hards. However, the former is now out of the Senate and in the Executive branch as DFA seceretary. Pia is also out, and is a presently a civilian.

Atty. Larry Gadon | Photo CTTO

Nancy Binay and Grace Poe were quiet on the issue despite the fact that it would not be easy for Nancy to forget that the Binays were demonized during the past administration.In fairness, Grace said she will fight tooth and nail any attempt to bribe the impeachment trial jurors. But there was no saying if their being women would influence their emotions against convicting Sereno.

These two and Dick Gordon, Migs Zuibiri and Manny Pacquiao that I find unquantifiable but would most likely be objective about the case.

Another factor is despite dictatorial accusations mostly from the noisy fake press, President Duterte being a former prosecutor has a weakness in lording over the law.

Despite the overwhelming evidence against Leila de Lima, the DOJ took the long cut to file charges.

Up to this day, the President still has not gotten his priority legislations. All is hanky-dorey about the de@th penalty for heinous crimes and drg-related offenses. DOTr Art Tugade has already solved the MRT problem and has improved the traffic situation and yet the emergency powers are still rotting as a proposal. On Monday, May 14 we will already have the election for barangay officials that he wanted to appoint.

Solicitor General Calida | Photo CTTO

They can say all they want but Duterte has given more than an arm and a leg to Congress and the legislature. He has stuck so far to observing the independence of the three branches of government. Despite perceptions fanned by the yellows, in a very real sense, his style has been greatly influenced by his being serious lawyer and rule of law, for which the Supreme Court is the only party mandated to collegially interpret.

This is why the impeachment of Sereno did not pass the skyway in the same way President Estrada and CJ Corona did. in these cases, hindi pa nga nababasa noong iba yung complaint, pumirma na ang required minimum to send the case to the Senate for trial.

SO IT BECAME PROVIDENTIAL THAT IN THE PROCESS OF THE KILOMETRIC SESSIONS that took almost a year, AN ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY WAS ACHIEVED.

RELATED TO THE FAILURE OF SERENO TO RELIGIOUSLY SUBMIT HER SALN FROM THE TIME SHE STARTED SERVING IN GOVERNMENT, THE LAWYER MANDATED TO DEFEND OUR GOVERNMENT, IPSO FACTO THE PEOPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, IN HIS CAPACITY AS SOLICITOR-GENERAL, SAW A VIOLATION NOT JUST OF THE RULE OF LAW BY ONE OF THE HIGHEST OFFICIALS OF THE LAND, AND TOOK IT UPON HIMSELF TO FILE A QUO WARRANTO PETITION TO THE SUPREME COURT.

Pres. Rodrigo Duterte and CJ Sereno | Photo from CNN Philippines

Most people do not realize that it was in defense of the absolute sovereignty of the people, that means all of you and I, that Jose Calida acted against a usurper of derivative power.

The rest is history, Maria Lourdes Sereno has undergone the first step of removal from office from being disqualified from the very beginning (ab initio), thus her appointment as Chief Justice was unconstitutional and therefore illegal.

She should have been the first to understand what the law means because she concurred to a quo warrante disqualification against Reynaldo Villar, erstwhile COA chief who was removed from office on April 24, 2012 under G.R. No. 192791, when she was already associate justice of the Supreme Court.